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State health officials report declines in prescribing but warn Arkansas still exceeds national opioid prescribing rates
Summary
Arkansas Department of Health officials told the Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee that doctor-shopping has dropped about 80% and opioid pill counts have fallen since 2016, but the state still prescribes opioids at roughly twice the national average; PDMP enhancements and prescriber audits were discussed.
State health officials presented the Arkansas Prescription Drug Monitoring Program annual report and highlighted multiple encouraging trends while urging continued vigilance.
At a committee meeting, Dr. Rick Smith, medical director for the PDMP, said doctor-shopping has fallen by about 80% and the total number of opioid pills dispensed has decreased about 21% since 2016. He told lawmakers the state has seen a roughly 12% decline in opioid prescriptions over the past four years and that morphine milligram equivalents (MME) dispensed in Arkansas fell about 28% between 2014 and 2018. Dr. Smith cautioned, however, that Arkansas remains roughly twice the national average in the number of prescriptions written per capita.
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